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Gorgonopsid
Episode 4.1 }} Gorgonopsids are a group of creatures that were at one time called "mammal-like reptiles", though in most current classification systems, they are not true reptiles, instead much more closely related to true mammals. Their mammalian specializations include differentiated tooth shape, the fully developed temporal fenestra, pillar-like rear legs and even ear bones, as well as other traits associated with its mammalian descendants. Arguments have even been made for synapsids of its time being endothermic. They have two sabre-teeth that are larger than the others. Facts Gorgonopsids are a suborder of therapsid synapsids, with mammalian specialisations including differentiated (heterodont) tooth shape, a fully developed temporal fenestra, pillar-like rear legs, and ear bones. They are the largest carnivores of the Late Permian, and ate other large reptiles like the anapsid Scutosaurus. Gorgonopsids are patient and implacable hunters. Once they have smelled blood they have a tendency to pursue their prey at all costs. They then store their kills in trees like leopards. They can gallop at a top speed of 50 km/h (30 mph). In Primeval Episode 1.1 In the late 1990s, a Gorgonopsid came through an Anomaly into the Forest of Dean. It attacked Helen Cutter in an Asda shopping centre car park, then followed her back into the forest. Eight years later, the Gorgonopsid appeared to guard the Forest of Dean as its territory; presumably, it either returned to the Present through the Forest of Dean Anomaly, or it had remained in the present day Forest since it first came through eight years earlier. The Gorgonopsid killed a cow to eat and stored it in a tree, and then went on to attack a truck. The Gorgonopsid also attacked Ben Trent's house one night after blood from a cut on Ben's finger drew it to there. It tried to eat Ben by smashing its head through Ben's bedroom window, but Ben was able to fend it off by throwing his belongings at it. The next day, the Gorgonopsid attacked Ben's school and trapped Ben and his teacher in a classroom, but left when Stephen Hart drew its attention and lured it away from the classroom. The following night, the Gorgonopsid attacked the Home Office team in the Forest of Dean, causing chaos until Stephen momentarily incapacitated the creature by driving a truck into it. When the Gorgonopsid began to recover, Stephen then shot and killed it. Episode 1.6 .]]When Tom Ryan and his men, as well as Nick and Helen Cutter, travelled into the Permian in search of an Anomaly to the Future, they were attacked by a Future Predator until a Gorgonopsid arrived. The Gorgonopsid briefly stunned the Predator and then proceeded to devour the Future Predator young. The adult Future Predator then recovered and viciously fought with the Gorgonopsid. The Predator managed to rip one of Gorgonopsid's eyes out and badly slash its neck, but the Gorgonopsid ultimately managed to kill the Predator by crushing it under itself. The Gorgonopsid then left with the Future Predator's corpse to eat. In Primeval: New World ''Undone (New World Episode 1.5) :''See main article: Lycaenops Lycaenops is a type of Gorgonopsid. Two came through an Anomaly to a University Campus in the Present, and were both shot and killed. Other References Episode 1.2 Connor Temple mentioned meeting a Gorgonopsid to Tom and Duncan. When Connor and Abby Maitland were investigating a possible Anomaly incursion in a forest, Connor told Abby to just run if they encountered another Gorgonopsid. Episode 1.4 When Abby expressed adoration for the Dodos' cuteness and claimed it wasn't their fault they became extinct, Connor remarked that she hadn't been this sentimental about the Gorgonopsid the team encountered in the Forest of Dean. Episode 1.6 Before she was erased from the timeline, Claudia Brown had nightmares in which she was attacked by a Gorgonopsid in the Home Office. Episode 2.1 The Gorgonopsids from Episodes 1.1 and 1.6 appeared in the recap of the previous series. Episode 4.1 The Gorgonopsids from Series 1 appeared in Lester's recap of the previous three series. Episode 4.2 An archive shot of the Gorgonopsid from Episode 1.6 was on Creaturesightings.com. Trivia *In Episode 4.2, an archive shot of the Gorgonopsid that appeared in Episode 1.6 was used for a picture of a creature on Creaturesightings.com which the site believed to be a mutant lion. Due to this, some fans believe that canonically, the creature seen on the website may have been a Gorgonopsid. *The Gorgonopsid is the first creature seen in Primeval. *The Gorgonopsid's roar is a very repeated sound. It was not only used in the Gorgonopsid's appearances, but was used for the dinosaurs on Duncan's TV in Episode 1.4, and was the last sound heard in Episode 1.6. *The Gorgonopsid is the first creature that Helen Cutter encountered. *The Gorgonopsid in Primeval bears a resemblance to the Gorgonopsids from Walking with Monsters. *In Episode 1.1, the Gorgonopsid's picture on its profile in Connor's database looks exactly like the Gorgonopsids that appear in the show. It is unlikely that a CGI restoration of a Gorgonpsid would have been this accurate. *The Gorgonopsid in Primeval is commonly believed to be a Gorgonops, but it is more likely to be an Inostrancevia, due to the fact that it is at least four or five meters long and Gorgonops did not grow this big. Also, it is shown co-existing with Scutosaurus. No Gorgonops fossils have been found in association with Scutosaurus fossils, but Inostrancevia fossils have. *The promotional image of the Gorgonopsid fighting the Future Predator is the same image used on a movie poster of Tyrannosaurus Azteca. *Before Episode 3.10 was broadcast, it was speculated by fans that a Gorgonopsid would appear in it and kill Connor. A Gorgonopsid was also speculated to appear in Episode 5.6, but in both cases, this did not happen. *The Gorgonopsid was repeatedly referred to by Ben Trent as a dinosaur in Episode 1.1, even though Gorgonopsids were actually carnivorous therapsids. However, this could be easily explained by the fact that Ben is only a young boy and probably wouldn't know any better. External Links *Gorgonopsid on the BBC America site *Gorgonopsid on the Watch site Category:Creatures Category:Series 1 Creatures Category:Recurring creatures Category:Promotional Creatures Category:Prehistoric creatures Category:Paleozoic creatures Category:Permian creatures Category:Synapsids Category:Mammal-like reptiles Category:Creatures that cause deaths Category:Creatures that killed other creatures